James Vowles heaped praise on the quality of Franco Colapinto to withstand the pressure of Formula 1 ahead of the 2024 Singapore GP at the Marina Bay Circuit, following his very impressive start to life in the sport during his cameo with the Williams team.
The Argentinian found himself in the car for the 2024 Italian GP when he replaced Logan Sargeant and Vowles has instantly been vindicated with decision after he went from 18th to 12th before bagging his first career points in Azerbaijan on September 15.
His eighth-placed finish saw him quadruple Sargeant’s career total of points, whilst he finished just two seconds behind a very experienced teammate in Alex Albon after out-qualifying the ex-Red Bull man too.
But for the Williams team principal, it isn’t the speed of the 21-year-old but his mental strength to soak up the pressure of the sport as he finds himself in contention for the Sauber F1 seat before the team becomes Audi in 2026.
“How calm he is under pressure,” Vowles told members of the media, including Total-Motorsport.com, of Colapinto and his best quality. “There’s a huge amount and it’s always hard to describe what happens to these elite athletes when you step up into F1.
“It’s a completely different world, and the pressure mounts exponentially and he takes it all in this drive. You can hear it over the radio, just listen to his voice.
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“He’s just incredibly calm and collected and just wants more information. So it’s a sign of a really good individual that’s able to cope with what’s happening.”
Colapinto exceeding expectations at Williams
Colapinto is already attracting attention outside of Vowles‘ affections in the F1 paddock with Sauber reportedly considering him a candidate for their vacant spot at the team in 2025 to partner Nico Hulkenberg.
It seemed as though the competition for the spot was exclusively being fought by Valtteri Bottas and Gabriel Bortoleto, the current Formula 2 leader, to win the attention of Mattia Binotto, the CEO.
But Colapinto’s strong opening two weekends where he has been competitive with Albon, as well as his sponsors, have caught the eye of the Swiss team who are in a transition period until Audi acquires them.
In light of that, Vowles continued to sing his praises after already declaring he will try to help him find a sport in the sport with Williams already locked down to Carlos Sainz and Albon for the foreseeable future.
“He’s done an absolutely outstanding job,” Vowles added. “Just really jumped straight into it two feet first, and has been swimming ever since.
“But he’s doing brilliantly well, and to score points in your second ever Grand Prix be a few seconds behind is extraordinary, and again this morning [Free Practice 1] he did a brilliant job.
“We knew, he was quick based on that’s why we put him in the car, but expected him to take more time to get up to speed. In Monza, that was about what I would have hoped for.
“But going to a new track that you’ve never been to before and be on the pace in FP1 even after an accident. Coming straight back onto the pace is a challenge and he’s very good at absorbing all the pressure that’s on his shoulders and just delivering.”
